


Hearth and Home

by Mandakatt



Series: Glaive Mom Adventures [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy XV: Kingsglaive
Genre: Blood and Injury, Comfort, Confessions, F/M, Injury, Protective Drautos, Reader-Insert, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28344990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mandakatt/pseuds/Mandakatt
Summary: Titus is with you looking over the new recruits, but a slight headache has been bothering him all morning.And because of that, he's already short tempered...Then a rookie makes a mistake that causes you to get injured, not severely no, but he takes almost all of his self control to not just lay into this new recruit more than he already has.Why....why is he so protective of you?
Relationships: Titus Drautos | Glauca/Reader
Series: Glaive Mom Adventures [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2075814
Kudos: 12





	Hearth and Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rosewhip43](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosewhip43/gifts).



“I immediately regret this decision…”

Titus sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers as the pain behind his eyes caused his entire head to throb. It was as if that pain had grown exponentially since this morning. He thought it might have been a headache just due to a bit of fatigue and lack of caffeine, but now he was pretty sure it was the new recruits that were causing it.

“Aw c’mon it’s not all that bad….I mean, some of them have decent potential. Maybe?” You chirped cheerfully as you tilted your head and looked up at him, only to blink at the expression on his face. “Hey Cap...you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” He huffed back as he gently moved his hand away from his face to cross his arms over his chest. The new recruits were, well...not doing as well as he’d hoped. Then again, most that joined the Glaives  _ willingly  _ were outcasts from the slums, and most of them were street smart, sure. They could hold their own in a scrap, or in an unexpected brawl, but when it came to listening to direction, or orders.

Well...he was positive that it was  _ worse  _ than herding cats.

“Right. I believe you about as far as I can throw you Cap,” you said gently and placed your hand gently on his arm. “And you know for a damned fact that’s not as far as I would like it to be.”

Titus couldn’t help but huff out a little laugh as he turned his head to you and caught you smiling softly up at him. What was it about you that always caused you to make him, or anyone else within the unit feel at ease? 

Was it how, no matter what you were willing to step up and take care of all of them? He understood that the new recruits knew you as the ‘mom-friend’ of the unit, more so than Crowe, which wasn’t  _ truly _ surprising. 

Or was it the fact that you actually gave a shit about what happened to all of them, when no one else did…?

He was lost in thought till he watched one of the new recruits get a bit too cocky, and do something risky with their focus. 

“HEY! What the f—”

It was then he realized that he’d interrupted them mid-warp and because of his interruption, they lost grip on their focus. To him it felt as if time itself slowed down as he watched the blade come flying straight toward him only to find himself laying on the floor a moment later with pain shooting straight up his side. But it wasn’t the sharp stabbing pain he was expecting. It was as if someone had hit him hard enough that it knocked the wind out of him. 

“Shit!”

“...Medic!” 

“I’m fine,” you groaned then hissed through your teeth. “I’m fine…”

Titus’ head snapped over in your direction when he heard your voice, and felt his heart leap into your throat when you hissed in pain, and when he saw blood oozing down your arm, all he saw was red. He watched as Nyx and Pelna, who was already healing you with the king's magic, helped you to sit up. He heard someone call for the medic again as you once more reassured Pelna that you were fine.

“It’s just a scratch,” you then turned your head to look at him and smiled gently. “You alright Cap?”

“Yeah…m’fine.” though he was thankful for the distracting pain in his side, compared to the pain he felt double behind his eyes. “How—?”

“Well we can’t say she doesn’t have fast reflexes,” Nyx huffed with a little laugh as he kept you close to him, while Pelna continued to heal your arm. “She literally kicked you out of the way.”

“Kicked me?”

“Sorry about that, Cap. Pushing you would have made it worse for me, pulling you would have been worse for you. So…” 

Titus sat up further with a groan, this time rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “Do not do that again. Are we understood?”

“But I’m fine. It’s—”

“Are. We. Understood?” he snarled softly.

“Yes Sir.”

He then turned his eyes to the new recruit and his brows dipped into a scowl. “You’re done. Pack your shit, and get out of my sight..”

“W-Wait? I’m done? What do you mean I’m  _ done?  _ I-I, but—”

“You’re done. That mistake could have cost her life, or mine. You could have  _ killed _ either of us with your cocky way of showing off. You are no Glaive.  _ Pack your shit. _ Get your ass to administration so they can strip you of your magic, and get the fuck out of my sight.” Titus growled as he got to his feet, and when the recruit hesitated again he stalked up to them and just about pressed his nose to theirs.

“I said you’re done.”

“...It...I didn’t mean—”

“You didn’t mean what? To be cocky? To almost threaten the life of me, or my other Glaives?” he snarled again before looking to Libertus. “Get them out of here…” 

“Come on,” Libertus said softly, gently grasping the recruits arm to start leading him out of the training room. “Let’s get you to see someone in administration. And yeah, it was an accident but you could have really hurt someone.” 

“But I—but I didn’t hurt anybody. I— ”

“Oh for fuck sake,” Titus snarled again and turned to look at the recruit again. “She’s injured because of you. She’s  _ hurt _ because of you, and the fact that you don’t realize just how you’d be a danger to yourself and the rest of your unit is fucking remarkable. I am not  _ risking  _ anyone’s lives over someone that would rather show off. Get them the fuck out of my sight.”

“Sir,” Libertus nodded and gently, yet firmly guided them out of the room. 

“You sure you’re alright?” Titus asked softly as he looked down at you. 

“Promise Cap, I’ve been through a lot worse.” you said softly with a smile.

With a huff through his nose he knew that statement to be the truth and yet, he hated hearing it as he watched as the medics were quick to check you over as they reassured everyone that was hovering over you that you were fine. Thanks to Pelna’s quick thinking and a bit of the King’s magic, it was truly nothing more than a scratch and despite your protests the Medics wrapped a bandage around your arm just to keep it clean for as long as you trained that day. 

Titus still scowled at the way the start of the day had gone, and with a growl he eventually excused himself from the training hall to head back to his office. He’d honestly hoped that a bit of peace and quiet would help dull the constant throbbing that had resumed behind his eyes and he let off a deep sigh as he sank into the couch in his office. He placed his elbows onto his knees then let his head hang into his hands. With a deep exhale he rubbed a hand over his face as he lifted his head enough to look at his desk, and pondered why he’d gotten so angry. 

Yeah, it was a mistake, one that rookies often made upon joining the Glaives, but he couldn’t put his finger on the  _ exact _ reason as to why and he found that entirely frustrating. 

_ She’s good at what she does. She takes care of all of us. I—we as Glaives would be entirely lost without her if something were to happen. Her life is worth more than a traitor like me... _

“Six, I need a drink…” he gently rubbed at his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. 

“If you need a drink, can I join you?”

Titus’ head snapped upwards as he looked at his door to find you standing in the doorway and huffed. “I thought I closed that…” 

“You did,” you smirked softly at him then looked serious. “Would you rather I leave you alone?”

Titus sighed deeply through his nose as he stared at you, his eyes catching that stark white bandage against your skin and he felt his guts twist just a little.

“No…” he said it so softly, he wasn’t even sure he’d truly said it loud enough for you to hear him. And yet he was oddly relieved when you closed the door to his office and made your way over to his desk. 

“Ah, I figured it was still here,” you chuckled as you pulled out a bottle of whiskey; a gift you had given him last year for his birthday and you made your way over to the couch to sit next to him, flopping down onto it with a deep sigh of your own. You set the pair of glasses down on the small coffee table only to look over at him and smile as you struggled to open the bottle. “I thought for sure—Six is this superglued shut?!—you would have taken this home by now to enjoy it there.”

With a huff he gently reached over and took the bottle from your hands and opened it easily before pouring you each a couple swallows of the amber liquid into each glass. “It tastes better when I can share it with others…”

“Don’t invite friends over to your place often?”

“Friends…” Titus mumbled with a huff as he picked up a glass. “Are few and far between, so no. I don’t.”

“Ah,” you gave him a little smile as you picked up your glass, and gently swirled the liquid around in it a moment before bringing it to your lips. “I am glad I am one that is few and not so far between then.”

He followed suit, sipping slowly enough so he could savor the way the liquor tasted on his tongue. How at first it tasted almost smokey, almost overpoweringly so till the soft subtle flavors of vanilla and caramel came through as it lightly burned his throat, and oddly he found himself thinking that this whiskey reminded him of you. He felt his face warm at the thought as he sighed and held the glass with both of his hands.

It was as if you were starting to insert yourself into everything he did. 

And he felt his heart clench a little in his chest. 

You were his subordinate. He should  _ not _ be thinking like— 

“Hey Cap?” 

“Hmn?”

“This kinda reminds me of you...” 

Titus’ head snapped over in your direction and he caught you smiling softly at the glass as you stared at it. His brows pinched a little in confusion before you finally turned your head to look up at him. 

“You have a subtle sweetness to you. Despite the hard, smokey, harsh exterior, there’s part of you that cares about all of us. You always are a bit soft with all of us in some, sort of subtle way...and honestly, I just wish that I had a way of exploring that side of you more.”

“What do you mean?

You huffed out a laugh as you lowered your eyes back to your glass. “You are my superior officer...I shouldn’t be  _ harboring _ feelings for my Captain and yet...here I am.”

Titus blinked at you for a moment as he swore that his heart leapt up into his throat. His brows pinched a little as he studied your face then slowly let his eyes trail down over your arms, pausing to linger for a moment on that bandage upon your arm, before he let his eyes continue to your hands. He watched you gently roll the glass between them in a slightly nervous fidget he’s seen many times before he let his eyes snap back up to your face, and he felt his breath catch in his throat as he caught himself looking into your eyes.

“I know it’s foolish, and I know you’re not interested in any way shape or form.” you gave off a slightly self-deprecating laugh. “Six, I’m pretty sure I’m going to make things awkward as hell between the two of us but, I think I’ve loved you for quite some time Titus, and I actually had to tell you, so that maybe I could...let these feelings go.”

He watched you give him a half hearted smile before you turned your head to look back at your glass, then with a huff you brought the glass up to your lips and quickly downed your drink before setting the glass onto the coffee table. He watched you fidget again as you gently rubbed your hands against your knees then sighed. 

“Sorry to trouble you Cap, thanks for the drink.” 

When you moved to get up, Titus found his guts twisting with the fear that if he let you go now, he wouldn’t—this wouldn’t get resolved. His hand snapped out to gently grasp your wrist when you got to your feet that he almost feared he’d hurt you with how you gasped. 

“Wait…” he said softly only to frown a little. “Sit down…”

Keeping his eyes on you he waited till you sat back down with a sigh but he frowned slightly when you didn’t, or rather couldn’t look at him, and his heart started to once more hammer in his chest as he was surprised that he didn’t want to let go of you. Not because he feared that you’d simply run away, but because  _ he _ didn’t want to. 

He honestly tried to not linger on that thought too long because otherwise he would never get the words he thought he should say past his lips. He knew too with you that talking was cheap, and actions always spoke louder. He found himself slowly rubbing his thumb against your arm, and he said not a word to you as he finished the whiskey in his glass and set it down with a sigh. And despite the fact that he was about to probably admit something he shouldn’t, he noticed that that sharp pain he’d had behind his eyes all morning was suddenly nothing more than a slightly dull ache as he turned his head to look at you.

“You know, I...The way you feel—”

“Cap, you don’t gotta let me down easy.” 

Titus found himself blinking at you in confusion. “What?” 

“I get it, I kinda messed up the friendship I have with you at this point. I’ve made things so awkward between you and I that I’m sure you’ll probably assign me to latrine duty for the next month,” you huffed out a little laugh as you gave him a bit of a sad smile. “But, I had to say it, I guess. To get it out of my system so I could let you go. I’ll be fine in a couple weeks Cap. Not the first time I’ve broken my own heart.”

“Wait—”

“Really, I’ll be fine. I promi—”

“Will you shut up a moment?” Titus huffed at you a little and he almost wanted to laugh at the comical way your jaw snapped shut with an audible click. He took a deep breath, cleared his throat and spoke softly again. 

“The way you feel about me, these feelings you have. Part of me wants to convince you that it’s just a crush, an infatuation. That you don’t really care about me like that. That I am someone that does not deserve such feelings from someone like you. I am not a man that is worth caring for…” and he brought his hand up to gently place his finger against your lips to keep you silent when you opened your mouth to dispute him. “However—” 

And he suddenly found himself at a loss for words. What could he say to you exactly? Could he say that he had the same feelings for you in the same way? Would you laugh at him? Yes...you would laugh at him, considering the fact that he could feel you laugh a little against his fingers that were still gently pressed against your lips. 

“However?” you spoke softly against his fingers as a soft smile pulled at your lips.

“However,” he felt his face grow warm at the feeling of the warmth of your breath against his fingers, and he couldn’t help but huff as he lowered his hand to rest it over yours, and grip it gently. He took a deep breath as he realized that what he was about to say and what he was about to admit there was no turning back from. 

_ Six give me strength. _

“You…You are not the only one to feel that way.” he spoke softly and when he heard your breath catch a little he lowered his eyes to look down at your hands, feeling too much like a coward to look you in the eye. “You are my subordinate. You are someone that I hold power over every day. And as much as I would love to guarantee your safety at all times I can’t. Besides, I know you would probably kick my ass if I gave you a desk job…”

You huffed out a little laugh at him, but he could feel the smile on your face, even if he wasn’t looking directly at you.. 

“If there was...something between us, there would be rumors, as we all know a certain redhead that  _ loves _ to talk. And I don’t know if I could keep my temper in check around Nyx and how smug he’d be.”

“Oh six he  _ would  _ be. Rumors however,” he lifted his head to look at you when he felt you move just a bit closer to him on the couch. “Rumors I can handle. I’m pretty damned sure I can spin rumors that will out do the ones that Tredd comes up with.”

Titus found himself smiling a little. “You think so?”

“I know so.”

“Somehow that does not surprise me…” he let his eyes roam over your face for a moment before he took a deep breath through his nose. He was at war with himself. One part of his brain kept telling him that again, as a traitor, he didn’t deserve someone like you, and yet another part told him,  _ reminded him _ , that hearth and home is not just a piece of land that he’d lost, that it was people too. 

And he was struck dumb with the thought that it might be  _ you _ that would be the undoing to General Glauca’s vendetta.

“So then…” your voice slowly pulled him out of his thoughts and your smile caused his heart to race just a little. “What do you wish to do about all this, Cap?”

Titus frowned a little before he huffed and gently moved his arm to wrap it about your shoulders to bring you closer to him on the couch. He brought your hand up to his chest to keep it clutched there as he gently buried his nose into your hair and breathed deeply, the scent of your shampoo assaulting his senses.

“For starters,” he grumbled softly. “I wish you would stop calling me ‘Cap’. In private.”

“And what should I call you instead?”

“My name.” 

“Okay then, Titus…I think I can do that.”

Slowly he pulled his head back enough to look down at you, his face warm with the thought that you could feel his heart race under your palm, and with a sigh he dipped his head just enough to press a gentle, lingering kiss to your forehead as he closed his eyes. He found himself drawing you closer to his chest when he felt you relax against him, and he couldn’t help but give off a soft pleased hum. 

“I will have to get back to the recruits shortly, but…” you mumbled softly as you gently rested your head upon his shoulder as you snuggled yourself up against his side. “Just let me enjoy this for a few more minutes...”

“Hmn,” Titus hummed softly in reply as he started to slowly pet his fingers against your shoulder. “Though I am sure that they will start to believe that I have done something to you if you do not return to them soon enough.”

“Pff,” you huffed. “If I go back too quickly, they’ll think you’re going ‘soft’ and we wouldn’t want that now, would we.”

Titus couldn’t help but huff a little laugh as he tilted his head and rested his cheek against the top of your head as he gave your shoulders a bit of a gentle squeeze. “No, I suppose not.”

_ To think, that hearth and home was here for me all along... _

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me also on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Mandakatt) and [Tumblr](https://mandakatt.tumblr.com/)!


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